The Mad Welshman is officially open for business! As a result, let me post a lil’ bit of what is going on, let you know who I am, why I think you can trust me, and what’s going to happen.

So, for those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter, but heard about this from a mate, here’s the skinny:

Not my normal look, but still a fun one.

My name is Jamie Durbin, also known as JamieTheD, Jay LPs Shizzle, and The Mad Welshman. I’m a 33 year old Let’s Player (That’s talkin’ over videogames), ex barman, a film extra at least once, I like to play with my voice and sing, do digital art… and for about three years total, I was a game reviewer, first for a lil’ site called Gamerfill (Defunct), second for a canadian site called Game-Boyz (Which, sadly, is gettin’ defunct. I’ll be posting edited reprints of stuff I wrote there when I get a chance). Both of those are links to old reviews, and you can find others at the same sources. Third and fourth sources would be my Let’s Play channel, and my old, somewhat sporadically written blog. All of these should hopefully demonstrate I’ve grown as a reviewer and a writer, and at least a lil’ bit as a person. My first game was Rogue, on a terminal, and my first home system was a BBC Micro. (God I feel old…) End of establishing this whole “cred” thing.

Problem is, like many folks who got their start in Games Journalism on the hobby end of things, I didn’t make much out of it, and you can help me change that. Provided, of course, you like my work. You can do that with the handy link either in the sidebar or the topbar. Leads directly to the Patreon, no fuss, no muss.

So here’s the deal:

Publishers, Developers

Do get in touch, through themadpembsman@gmail.com (Or, if you already know me from my Game-Boyz/Gamerfill days, that other address you probably already have), and ask me if I’m interested in covering your games. Odds are I will be, although there is the…

IMPORTANT SPORTSBALL EXCEPTION: I know full well I’m not qualified to do the majority of sports games. Just strike me off the list as far as NFL, FIFA, or Stanley Cup Throwdown is concerned. Sports management games, or strategy games with a sport theme I’m much better about, and racing games are just fine, but I’d rather not do anybody a disservice by writing an article about FIFA ’16 when I know damn well the last football game I played was Sensible Soccer, and I sucked at it.

If you’re disappointed/angry with a review, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’re both aware that games journalism can feel in conflict with developers or publishers, and I’d rather discuss things than have a screaming match about them. Especially get in touch if I’ve got something factually wrong, because that will need to be corrected. I don’t want you to be afraid to talk to me, because I’m pretty sure we both want games to be cool and interesting and enjoyable. On the flip side…

There are no scores, and my overall opinion is not likely to change. I still think Blur’s components fit badly together, I still think Dungeonbowl’s design was flawed, and I still think Space, Pirates And Zombies wasn’t that hot. That I’m not hot on your game or don’t like it doesn’t make you bad people, and I want to make sure I don’t get personal, because that’s pretty shitty.

If you end up liking my work enough to want to help me succeed, anything more than £20/month will have to be disclosed by me, because that’s the minimum I’d consider a “Significant amount” for conflict of interest purposes. Do us both a favour, and please don’t go above that if you do.

Readers/Viewers

There will be no scores, no pretty numbers. Sorry, but I really don’t believe they’re useful, and I’ve had this opinion for a long time. You want scores, you probably want somewhere else. You want to read or watch (I’m planning some video content, as time permits) where I think a game’s going to be enjoyed in our big ol’ community, and what I think of that game, you’ll be coming to the right place. Similarly, if you’ve come to read about discussions of games past, the culture that surrounds games, and (if this goes full time) some of the shiny events folks put on to share their games, that’s stuff I definitely want to provide.

If you like my work, there’s a Patreon, and I’d like it if you contribute to that. Won’t force you, won’t be hiding content from you. But if the place ain’t supported, I can’t keep writing for you, and I definitely can’t write full time for you lovely folks.

No Comments. Because I like discussion, not hitting the “delete” button fifty odd times before said discussion can be found, there is a process for gettin’ in touch, but it won’t be through comments on the articles themselves. Mail me. Your mails have the chance of becoming part of a regular article (Haven’t decided between every fortnight, or every month) where I look at a selection of these mails, and hopefully build a discussion out of them. But because I like discussion, not “You suck”, “Go die in a fire for dissing this game I like”, and the like, be aware that trash-talk mails go straight in the trash, and the author goes on my mail blocklist the first time it happens. I love it when people disagree, and raise points about things, because there’s always something a player, any player, is going to miss, but keep it civil, keep it as spoiler free as you can, and in return, while I can’t guarantee a reply, I can at least say I’m going to try to read them all. Obviously, this may prove foolhardy over time. But for now, we’ll see how it goes.

Article Frequency: There’s gonna be at least four articles a month right now (A conservative estimate most of the year), obviously getting more articles the more successful this site is. In the case of reviews, I will take my time before writing a review, so don’t expect day one reviews of a 4X or big RPG. On the flipside, yes, you can cement your opinion of an RPG after 26 hours of play, even the big ones like Skyrim, and yes, when a game bluescreens your computer for the 4th time in a row, it is time to say “This game is unplayable.”

Twitter Contact. I do have a twitter (@TheMadWelshman) , but, like any sensible netizen, I exercise the right to mute/block you if I don’t think we’re going to get along, and report you if you’re being an asshole to me or my friends. So again, be civil, be cool.

Okay, that’s mostly over. What’s left is gettin’ in touch. It’s nice and simple. Themadpembsman@Gmail.com . Please make your subject lines clear (COMMENT: [subject] for commentary , NEWS/REVIEW/PREVIEW/INVITE: [Subject] for pub/dev stuff. I know that isn’t always possible in the pub/dev case, but the easier it is for me to auto-sort, the more time I have for replying).

If you got to the end of this lil’ fireside yak, thanks for reading, I hope you’ll enjoy my content in future!

If you’re curious about the logo, that was done by the talented Shivikai. Many thanks to you, for making a Mad Welshman truly look good!